She might have been born without hair, but Amy, the heroine of Daddy Hairdo by Francis Martin and Claire Powell (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books), certainly makes up for it as she grows up. Soon she has hair so long and luscious it would have Rapunzel green with envy. But with such long hair comes much inconvenience, and Amy’s dad (whose hair seems to have disappeared at the same rate that Amy’s has grown!) takes it upon himself to find a solution to control her wild mane.
Brimful with humour and good dose a silliness, this joyful story about increasingly crazy hairdos is also at heart, all about the wonderful bond between a little girl and her father. Francis Martin’s text is a great read aloud; short sentences are always so effective, really helping getting the right intonations. Claire Powell’s artwork is full of little details, and the visual jokes are a plenty.
A fun read with lots of heart (and hair!)!
As part of the blog tour celebrating the release of Daddy Hairdo I am delighted to be welcoming Claire Powell to talk about illustrations that did not make the final version of the story.
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Haircuts that it didn’t make ‘the cut’
by Claire Powell
There were so many hilarious opportunities of what could be created with Amy’s super long locks; here are a few of illustrator Claire Powell’s ideas that didn’t make it into the book!
The Shark ‘Do:
This shark style hairdo by Amy’s dad may look awesome, but it looks like it caused some problems at the pool with other kids… Did you spot the tiny shark-sized swimming cap? So cute!
The Medusa ‘Do:
Looks like Amy’s dad didn’t learn from the scary shark ‘do with this one and his imagination is running away with him again! How do you think a snake style hairdo would go down at Amy’s school?
The Birds Nest ‘Do:
Oh dear! Amy did not like this hairdo… The tree branches might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but not so much when the birds decided to make Amy’s hair their home…and toilet!
The Elephant ‘Do:
Imagine having hair so heavy you can’t play see saw! Amy’s elephant ‘do must have been inspired by her super long, super heavy hair… what a pain in the neck (literally!)
These are just some of the illustrations that didn’t make it into Daddy Hairdo by Francis Martin & Claire Powell. If you think these are whacky, just imagine what made it into the book…
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Many thanks Claire!
Illustrations © 2018 Claire Powell
Don’t forget to follow the rest of the blog tour:
Claire Powell is an illustrator, writer and designer. She has spent several years as a design director in channel rebranding working for Nickelodeon, CBBC and BBC One. She is the illustrator of Have You Seen My Giraffe? And The Chocolate Factory Ghost (which was selected for the Tom Fletcher Book Club)
Francis Martin is an author and illustrator, based in Liverpool. He studied an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Daddy Hairdo is the first picture book he has written and was inspired by a true story.
Daddy Hairdo is out now, available here and in all good bookstores.
